The World Health Organisation recently released its Global Status on Road Safety Report 2013. You decide how NZ compares with the “key facts” provided by the WHO in the table.

Road_deaths_time_of_day

A new strain of bird flu has broken out in China H7N9. Is the new bird flu strain likely to reach New Zealand or is this just another health scare? The Chinese H7N9 outbreak started just a few weeks ago, and so far authorities have reported upwards of 82 individuals infected with this strain of flu, with most of the cases originating in the Shanghai area. The most recent outbreak is the first time that the particular H7N9 strain has been seen in humans, joining a number of other flu variants that have crossed the species boundary, as you can see in this infographic.

Diagram showing bird flu mutation

So far, no concrete evidence of human-to-human transmission of H7N9 has been found. That said, there are a few other options – as seen in the infographic, this particular flu can infect pigs, and may have also mutated to infect other animals with which humans might have contact. Alternatively, the virus may be able to survive outside the bodies of birds, which could result in contraction of the strain even without physically touching or being close to a bird.

If H7N9 turns out to be transmissible by human-to-human contact, there is the risk, as with any new flu strain, that it could turn into a pandemic. As of yet, H7N9 infections have stayed within China, – however, this could change at any time, so vigilance and flu-prevention techniques are always good practice.

For those traveling to China, avoiding poultry markets or any other areas where you might come into contact with birds is extremely wise, as are frequent hand washing and covering the face when coughing or sneezing.

Source: http://dailyhealthpost.com/new-bird-flu-scare-hits-china-are-you-at-risk/#axzz2RFWqUgGY

Funeral insurance or “final expenses” insurance is a life insurance policy with a small cover amount, such as $5,000 to $25,000, that you may buy directly from and Insurer like Pinnacle Life. You can name any beneficiary, typically a family member, who would make the claim and receive the money upon your death. That beneficiary would then be responsible for using the money to carry out your wishes.

The beneficiary legally could decide to use the money any way they want, so make sure you trust your beneficiary. Also, if your cover amount exceeds the cost of your funeral, the beneficiary keeps the difference.

Another type of life funeral insurance is called pre-paid insurance. It is intended for the person who has selected specific arrangements at a funeral home and wants the assurance that those arrangements will be paid for and implemented.

Unlike funeral insurance policies, which you buy directly from an insurance company, pre-paid policies are sold by funeral home directors. The funeral home is the beneficiary of the policy and the funeral director receives a commission, for selling you the policy. The Funeral Directors Association of NZ website has some good information about pre-paid funeral plans. http://www.fdanz.org.nz/pre-paid-funerals.aspx

Unfortunately, unlike funeral insurance, there are no websites which allows one to comparison shop for pre-paid funerals, so you’ll have to phone around to compare prices and policy terms.

Unfortunately some applicants succumb to the temptation to lie on the life insurance application forms in order to reduce their price of cover. Easy enough, but unfortunately non-disclosure in NZ has some very harsh penalties, including voiding a policy due to non-disclosure.

The 5 biggest porkies told based on Insurer research in the USA is a follows.

1. I don’t use tobacco: Non-smokers pay almost half the rates smoker pay, which probably explains why this lie is most common.  Typically in NZ, if an applicant fails to disclose their smoking status accurately at the time of application when a claim is lodged the pay-out is reduced by the amount the life insured would have paid has they been paying smoker rates.
2. I don’t use recreational drugs: More-often seen with agent applications as the applicant is most likely uncomfortable disclosing this to an unfamiliar life agent. The use of recreational drugs does not necessarily preclude you from life insurance.
3. I’m not depressed: Neglecting to mention depression is common. Hopefully as mental health awareness becomes more prominent and acceptable; applicants will be more likely to give full disclosure on their mental health.
4. There is no cancer in my family: This lie is more likely a result of ignorance than intention. Having had one family member diagnosed with cancer is unlikely to influence a life insurance application.  
5. I only ever had one DUI charge: Moral underwriting, as it is known in the industry, is becoming a strong influence in life insurance underwriting. Better to be honest about DUI convictions as they are easy to validate come claim time.

Source: http://www.insure.com/articles/lifeinsurance/biggest-lies.html

National Wear Red Day, was established in the USA to raise awareness that heart disease is the number one health threat among American women. Unfortunately the statistics are not much better for NZ woman.

The picture of women’s heart health in New Zealand,  care of to the NZ  Heart Foundation.

• 5384 Kiwi women died of cardiovascular diseases, such as heart disease and stroke, in 2009.
• That’s around 14 women dying on average every day. Close to 100 a week. 100 families broken apart.
• Sadly 658 women died from breast cancer in 2009.
• But let’s not lose sight that more than 7x the number of women died of cardiovascular disease.
• Of those deaths, 2514 women died of coronary heart disease (CHD)*
• That’s about 7 a day – 48 a week.
• CVD made up almost 35 percent of all deaths in women in 2009 – that’s reason enough to get women banding together and tackling this killer head on.
• Women who smoke risk having a heart attack 19 years earlier than non-smoking women.
• Nearly two-thirds of the deaths from heart attacks in women occur among those who have no history of chest pain.
• 42% of women who have heart attacks die within 1 year, compared to 24% of men.
• Under age 50, women’s heart attacks are twice as likely as men’s to be fatal.

An excellent video, highlighting awareness about heart disease to woman worldwide.

When Michael Savage spoke about the creation of the welfare state “from the cradle to the grave”, turns out he wasn’t kidding about the grave. There is a Funeral Grant available through WINZ. The Funeral Grant helps people with actual and reasonable funeral costs.

A Funeral Grant is income and asset tested. The test depends on whether the deceased has a surviving partner or dependent child. Broad principles being the surviving partner’s income should be less than $40,644.24 and the deceased assessable assets need to be greater than $1,708.10. Not all assets are assessable.

Non Assessable assets are the person’s:

• interest in his or her own principal place of residence, including any interest in the land on which it is erected and any other buildings or improvements on that land which are used principally for the purposes of that person’s household and
• furniture, appliances, tools, ornaments, or other articles used principally for the purposes of the deceased’s household or
• motor vehicles, caravans, trailers, or boats used principally for family purposes

The maximum Funeral Grant that can be paid to meet funeral expenses is $1,959.42

Expenses that can be included in the assessment of a Funeral Grant are any reasonable costs associated with the proper disposal of a body and include professional services with regard to preparing the body for cremation or burial (for example, embalming, cost of a casket, newspaper notice costs, hearse fees, compulsory fees for the purchase of a burial plot).

Some expenses which are not deemed a burial necessity are not covered Eg. Flowers, donations to clergy or musician, koha, chapel fees and car hire.

Bottom line, what can you expect by way of funeral grant from the state? Let’s look the example below care of the WINZ dept.

Example – married couple

A client whose husband has recently died has made an application for a Funeral Grant. They were receiving New Zealand Superannuation at the time of death with the husband’s estate being assessed at $1,000 and the client having $2,000 cash in her bank account. The allowable costs for funeral expenses came to $5,000.

As the balance still to pay for the funeral expenses is greater than the maximum payment, the amount of Funeral Grant payable would be the maximum of $1,959.42

For more information run through the WINZ website.

It’s a real shame when a story about insurers (or banks) giving people a hard time when they claim on their life insurance hits the headlines. It’s not a good look for the industry as a whole.

This story posted on Stuff hit the headlines a couple of days ago and, when I last looked, the article had attracted 72 public comments – mostly from people venting their ‘displeasure’ (I’m being kind here…) at the insurer.

So, what’s our take on this?

Well, we’re not 100% sure because all we have to go on is the ‘media’ version of the facts.

However, I’m prepared to say that if a single dose of medication given to a 14-year-old girl over 46 years ago is a reason to either void or cut back on the insurance pay-out, then lord help us all!

October is Breast Cancer Action Month.

And, because cancer is the number one cause of death in New Zealand, we like to talk about it on our life insurance blog.

So, how big is the problem?

Around 2,700 women will be diagnosed with breast cancer this year and over 600 will die… that’s around 12 women dying each week.

ALL WOMEN have a chance of developing breast cancer at some time during their lives. In NZ many women tend not to have regular screening mammograms…. this means if there is breast cancer, it’s often well established by the time their doctor examines them and these women are more at risk of dying from breast cancer… obviously.

In NZ, around 1 in 9 NZ women will be diagnosed with breast cancer at some point in their lives but this is still better than Australia, the UK and Europe at around 1 in 8 and the US with 1 in 7.

The risk of a NZ woman being diagnosed with breast cancer is different for each age group…

This shows that a woman’s risk of breast cancer peaks in her 50’s and 60’s.

The following numbers tell us that the rate of breast cancer diagnosis in New Zealand is rising…  a 48% increase in the 14-year period from 1995 to 2009.

These numbers also tell us the rate of death from breast cancer is falling slightly.

Both of these trends are due (in part) to the efforts of making women more aware of the need for early and regular screening… which is exactly why we’re talking about it on our blog!

For more info on Breast Cancer Action Month, see http://www.takeaction.org.nz/.

Today is WORLD ORAL HEALTH DAY!     

What on earth, you may ask, do your pearly whites have to do with life insurance?? 

Well… there is this study suggesting people with poor oral hygiene are more likely to suffer heart disease, which of course increases their probability of an early death… which impacts directly on life insurance!!  

Yeah, right… you say. Well the study was reported in the American Journal of Preventative Medicine in December 2005, in which more than 40,000 US adults aged 40 to 79 from 22 states were studied. None of the subjects smoked. The study concluded that “A significant association was observed between the extent of tooth loss and heart disease prevalence.”  

In fact, the study turned up the following extraordinary results…   

Number of teeth missing        % of people in the group that had heart disease

• 1 to 5 missing teeth                6.8% had heart disease

• 6 to 31 missing teeth              10.2% had heart disease

• Complete tooth loss                11.5% had heart disease

…meaning people with tooth decay are technically in a higher risk category when they apply for life insurance and they should pay more.    

So, what about a question on the old life insurance application form probing your oral hygiene habits, eh? 

Ok. Maybe its time for life insurance companies to start offering lower insurance premiums for vegetarians.

Why?

Because, like being a non-smoker, there is evidence scattered around that suggests vegetarians are healthier and live longer. And if you are likely to live longer, then you should (in theory) qualify as a lower risk and should therefore pay less for life insurance. That’s how insurance works.

I came across this story – where a UK-based insurance company is offering a discounted price for vegetarians taking up a life insurance policy. According to the article, vegetarians are less likely to suffer cancer (by up to 40% for some cancers) and are also less likely to have raised cholesterol, suffer a heart attack or become diabetic.

So what stops insurance companies in New Zealand from offering lower premiums to committed vegetarians?

The short answer is that the evidence is probably not convincing enough and the stats not compelling enough for most insurance actuaries to take this step. And for those companies that do find the stats compelling, it creates another dilemma. A decrease in premiums for vegetarians would need to be counterbalanced by an increase in premiums for meat eaters in order to manage the overall risk.

Personally, I think it’s a good idea to give this a go.

Just think of how creative the product naming could be for a life insurance policy marketed to vegetarians? … try ‘Lettuce Life’?

If you can come up with a great name, please let us know.